mokkotsu: wash stroke

Mokkotsu is the soft wash stroke of two or three tones which, in combination with sembyo, forms the basis of all sumi-e techniques.

Usually a brush with soft bristles is used for mokkotsu. After moistening the brush, dip one side into the middle value, or chuboku. Then, turn it over and dip the tip into the deepest black, or noboku, so that it is loaded as illustrated in Fig. 1. Hold the brush lightly but firmly near the top of its handle with the thumb and two or three fingers, but tilt it at approximately a thirty-degree angle so that the length of the bristles touches the paper as well as the tip. Then, as you start to paint, turn the brush on the side during the stroke, creating a gradation of tone with each separate stroke (Fig. 2). Continue painting with the same brushload as long as possible before reloading, thereby obtaining the maximum variety of tonal gradation as the sumi diminishes. Accidental white areas, where the brush leaves the paper, are to be welcomed as they too add interest and spark. A little practice will show the artist just how to fill the brush for the best results; the brush should be wet enough to flow freely, permitting the ink to blur here and there where such softness is desired.

One of many possible combinations of sembyo and mokkotsu is shown in Fig. 3. Here, as usual when rendering large leaves, the procedure is to paint the stem first, using a firm sembyo stroke and a hard brush and noboku. Then change to a larger and softer brush, and having freshly loaded it as previously described for mokkotsu, paint the body of the leaf in wash strokes away from the center, or main stem, of the leaf. These strokes bear slightly forward toward the tip in the natural direction of a growing leaf, but the strokes are free and irregular, resulting in a varied contour. Before the mokkotsu strokes are completely dry, change to a small, hard brush and noboku for indicating the smaller veins, which should blur slightly on the still-moist sumi of the mokkotsu.

Fig. 4 shows another combination of sembyo and mokkotsu: smaller leaves where the strokes go along in the same direction as the stem and appear to be slightly rounded due to a change in brush pressure. In this case it is better to paint the stem last, after establishing the twist of the leaf. The brush tip touches the paper first; then the full width of the bristles is brought to bear down briefly before being lifted again. These two swift strokes establish the leaf's contour; in the first the dark tip of the brush forms the outer edge of one side of the leaf, and in the second the same dark tip forms the inner center. Stem and veins are added with a hard brush and noboku.

Tiny leaves (Fig. 5) may be simply one-touch strokes of mokkotsu with one-touch strokes of sembyo. In its simplest combination, such as the sweet pea of Fig. 6, the pale mokkotsu strokes of the petals complement the swift black lines of sembyo in the economy of suggestion that forms the essence of sumi-e.

Other combinations of sembyo and mokkotsu as seen on following pages are elaborate and complicated versions of the basic combinations described here.